The latest report from Government-appointed commissioners at Sandwell Council has been published, noting that “the council continues to make progress on the right path”.
The report covers the period January – June 2023 and states: “there has been significant hard work and again considerable progress made at the council in the past six months.”
Councillor Kerrie Carmichael, Leader of Sandwell Council, said: “Our focus since the start of intervention has been to make sure that we are set up to deliver the best possible outcomes for our residents, and that has meant changing the way we work.
“There has been a huge amount of work to get us to this point. We are not just aiming to be good enough to get out of intervention but are striving for excellence. I want to thank council officers for their efforts and the Commissioners for the constructive way in which they have approached their role.
“We are not the same organisation we were when intervention began, but we know there is more to do as we make sure the changes made are fully embedded. The next step is for us to demonstrate what impact the changes we’ve been making have had for our residents.
“The pandemic and cost of living emergency have hit Sandwell hard, so we know our community needs high-quality public services more than ever.”
The Commissioners’ report sets out key milestones achieved over the six-month period, including the successful handover from the Managing Director Commissioner to the permanent Chief Executive, Shokat Lal, who started in February 2023. The report also recognises that plans are advancing to improve the way residents interact with the council, and that Sandwell is now a more active partner across the West Midlands.
Shokat Lal said: “Outstanding councils are never complacent but are continuously looking for ways to improve and deliver better services. That is the culture we are now growing at Sandwell Council.”
Councillor Carmichael said: “In the Sandwell Aquatics Centre, our residents are now able to train in the best community leisure facility in the country. The region’s talented swimmers and divers will also benefit from having world-class facilities on their doorstep.
“This is a symbol of our ambition for Sandwell and will be a catalyst for us to create more opportunities, grow our local businesses and regenerate our borough.
“Sandwell is the gateway from Birmingham to the rest of the Black Country, and there is so much potential here.
“With the Sandwell Aquatics Centre, we’ve shown we can be trusted to deliver, so we can look to the future with optimism and confidence.”
The Commissioners’ report also sets out their areas of focus for the next six months, and states: “We are mindful of your consideration that any aspect of your Directions should only be in place long enough to achieve the stated objectives of the intervention, and your expectation that, on the appointment of a permanent Chief Executive, we would begin to ‘step back’ from the council. We believe that we have now reached that stage and recommend that we begin the incremental reduction in our time at the council. Consequently, over the next six months we will be spending fewer days in Sandwell, providing that the current trajectory is sustained. Our next report will make definitive recommendations about the end date of the intervention, setting out our reasons and including clear evidence as to why the public could be expected to have confidence in the Council in meeting best value duty sustainably.”
In response, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Local Government and Building Safety, Lee Rowley MP, said: “There is still work to do, particularly to show that the improvements of the past fifteen months are both embedded and sustainable, but we are seeing a council better placed to demonstrate this.
“I fully support your decision that now is the right point for you to reduce the amount of time you spend in Sandwell and look forward to your assessment of the council’s response to this next challenge.”
- Government intervention at Sandwell Council started on 22 March 2022. Kim Bromley-Derry is Lead Commissioner (prior to Shokat Lal’s appointment as permanent Chief Executive, Kim was Managing Director – Commissioner). Jim Taylor is Best Value Commissioner.
- The Commissioners’ report
- The Minister’s response to the Commissioners
